Optus is experiencing a nationwide outage today in yet another bungle for Australia's second-largest telco provider, straining its relationship with customers. However, the Optus fallout may extend to ASX shares reliant on the network provider.
Believed to have started around 3 am, the network interruption has left millions of customers unable to make phone calls, access the internet, or use other network-connected services.
With its network being used by approximately 10 million Australian customers, the consequences of the outage are significant and far-reaching.
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Critical infrastructure falls into chaos
A year and one month after Optus suffered one of the largest cyber attacks in Australian history, the Singtel-owned telco is in hot water once again as the country plunges into a networking nightmare.
At 5:47 am, Optus acknowledged the issues, saying they were "working to restore services as quickly as possible.", as shown below. However, no details on the cause of the outage have been provided at this point in time.
Without any specific details from the source, some have speculated the issue faced by Optus could be a major one. Meanwhile, Australia's communications minister Michelle Rowland has suggested the cause appears to be a "deep network problem".
How Optus outage could hurt and help other ASX shares
Connectivity is a deeply rooted necessity in the modern world. As such, the outage has knock-on effects across Australian companies, including those offering tradeable shares on the ASX. For some, the impact could be a positive while potentially damaging for others.
Several large ASX-listed companies have publicly reported issues with taking inbound phone calls. These include Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Ramsay Health Care Ltd (ASX: RHC), and Insurance Australia Group (ASX: IAG)-owned NRMA insurance.
Likewise, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) customers may experience issues with receiving their NetCode texts for account access.
Furthermore, a handful of ASX shares might be impacted today due to their network dependence. Though not confirmed, Australian EFTPOS terminal operators such as Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR), Smartpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: SMP), and Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) may see fewer transactions depending on their customers' chosen network provider.
Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB) also relies on the Optus network for its mobile customers. The smaller ASX telco share is up 3.42% to $3.785 despite the mobile meltdown.
Lastly, Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) could be one ASX share that stands to benefit from the Optus outage. Events like these can leave disgruntled customers searching for a new network provider. The Telstra share price is up 2.45% to $3.965 as we approach midday.
